Faculty Perceptions of Challenges to Educating Engineering and Computing Students About Ethics and Societal Impacts

Abstract

Boulder in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering (CEAE). She has served as the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Education in the CEAE Department, as well as the ABET assessment coordinator. Professor Bielefeldt was also the faculty director of the Sustainable By Design Residential Academic Program, a livinglearning community where interdisciplinary students learn about and practice sustainability. Bielefeldt is also a licensed P.E. Professor Bielefeldt's research interests in engineering education include servicelearning, sustainable engineering, social responsibility, ethics, and diversity.

Hidden Curriculum Perspective on the Importance of Ethics and Societal Impacts in Engineering Education

“…Since educators involved in the pilot testing associated with the survey development associated the term 'ethics' with microethical issues and were unfamiliar with the concept of macroethics, we used the idea of 'ethics and social impacts' At the end of the survey, respondents were asked to provide their email if they were willing to be contacted for a follow-up interview. More detail on the selection and interview process has been published [25]. The interviews were designed to gain additional insights into the settings in which the participants teach ESI (the interview protocol is included in Appendix A) and 37 were completed.…”

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: a setting for Professional and Research skills

“…As described above, various bodies have identified the need for an appreciation and application of Legal, Social, Ethical and Professional (LSEP) topics as expected graduate attributes. Whilst these LSEP topics are clearly defined in terms of professional bodies, the appreciation and understanding of them by faculty and students is more varied (Polmear et at, 2018): it is not uncommon for students to misunderstand all of them, and to have difficulty in addressing them in a given project and scenario, even where a cursory examination shows they do apply.…”

How Do We "Raise" Ethically Minded Computer Students?

“…Polmear et al [32] indicate that this method is most effective. They [32] state that most computer curricula in undergraduate programs have too many required computer courses to be able to accommodate an additional computer ethics course [32]. Infusing ethical issues and dilemmas in each computer course throughout the computer curriculum allows students to be continually exposed to key ethical issues [38].…”

“…Sirpan et al [31] emphasize it is more effective to teach ethics throughout the computer curriculum by infusing workshops, team projects, individual assignments and soliciting guest speakers, to help computer students understand the ethical dilemmas. Polmear et al [32] outline the efficiency of incorporating ethical themes throughout the computer curriculum. Polmear et al [32] indicate that this method is most effective.…”

“…Polmear et al [32] outline the efficiency of incorporating ethical themes throughout the computer curriculum. Polmear et al [32] indicate that this method is most effective. They [32] state that most computer curricula in undergraduate programs have too many required computer courses to be able to accommodate an additional computer ethics course [32].…”